National Basketball Association
Preview
L.A. Clippers at Orlando
When: 7:00 PM ET, Friday, March 29, 2024
Where: Kia Center, Orlando, Florida

Playoff contenders in the Eastern and Western conferences converge on Friday when the Orlando Magic continue an eight-game homestand against the visiting Los Angeles Clippers.

Both Orlando (42-30) and Los Angeles (45-27) come into Friday's matchup jockeying for home-court advantage in the postseason, with the Clippers sitting in fourth place in the West through Wednesday.

After dropping their second straight with a 101-93 defeat to the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday, the Magic ended the day 1 1/2 games behind the Cleveland Cavaliers for fourth in the East.

While at least fourth place and thus home court for the first round is within reach for Los Angeles and Orlando, the gap for falling into the play-in round also is narrow. The Clippers are 2 1/2 games ahead of the Phoenix Suns, who are No. 7 and the first team in the play-in out West.

The Magic lead the East's No. 7 Miami by three games.

Before losses to Sacramento and Golden State, Orlando had won five straight games, including the first three of its lengthy homestand. The Magic, ranked No. 28 for free-throw percentage on the season at 75.1, missed more foul shots than the margin of defeat in both contests, including going a dismal 11 of 21 on Wednesday.

Free-throw shooting is an area of "concentration" that Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley said is crucial to remedy in the final push for the postseason. Cole Anthony, who scored 26 points against Golden State, echoed Mosley's sentiment.

"Something we can control is always frustrating when we don't control it," Anthony said. "We're getting to the line. That's half the battle. I don't think we've struggled getting to the line all season. We've just got to lock in, whether it takes an extra second, take a deep breath, whatever it is."

Indeed, the Magic lead the NBA in free-throw attempts per game at 24.6. At 18.5 converted per contest, they average slightly more than the Clippers' 18.4 while Los Angeles attempts more than two fewer at 22.4.

The Clippers shot only 14 of 20 at the foul line in their most recent outing, a visit to Philadelphia on Wednesday tipping off a four-game road swing. However, Los Angeles made one more 3-pointer -- 14 to the 76ers' 13 -- in a 108-107 Clippers win.

Paul George recorded his first double-double since Nov. 30, scoring 22 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, while James Harden posted his 22nd double-double of the season with 16 points and 14 assists.

Kawhi Leonard's run of seven consecutive games with 20-plus points ended, as he scored 17 points, but he converted a pair of and-ones in the final minute and blocked Kelly Oubre Jr. in the closing seconds.

"We talked about being a defensive team," Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. "You can live with yourself if you lose games like that where you don't shoot the ball well, but you play hard, you compete and you scrap. And that's what we've got to do every single night."

Los Angeles comes into Orlando No. 11 in the NBA in defense, allowing 112.9 points per game. The Magic rank third at 108.7 points allowed per contest.

The win at Philadelphia snapped a two-game skid for Los Angeles, which has not won nor lost more than two consecutive games since the last date of a four-game winning streak on Feb. 5.

--Field Level Media

Stats and Records
Team Comparison
  W/L Strk Home Away Day Night Div Conf
L.A. Clippers 45-27 W1 22-13 23-14 5-4 40-23 8-5 27-18
Orlando 42-30 L2 25-10 17-19 4-1 38-29 9-6 30-17
Last Meeting
L.A. Clippers Orlando
Date Away Home Pts Reb FG% Pts Reb FG%
10/31/23 ORL 102 LAC 118 118 44 49.4 102 40 46.9
Player Stats
Previous Matchup
Points Player Total FG% FTM
L.A. Clippers P. George 27 47.1 5
Orlando P. Banchero 15 38.5 4
Rebounds Player Total Off Def
L.A. Clippers I. Zubac 9 2 7
Orlando W. Carter Jr. 8 1 7
Assists Player  
L.A. Clippers P. George 7
Orlando P. Banchero 4
Season
Points Player Total FG% FTM
L.A. Clippers K. Leonard 1595 52.2 255
Orlando P. Banchero 1599 46.1 349
Rebounds Player Total Off Def
L.A. Clippers I. Zubac 565 181 384
Orlando P. Banchero 486 76 410
Assists Player  
L.A. Clippers J. Harden 559
Orlando P. Banchero 384
Quickchart Matchup
L.A. Clippers L.A. Clippers Off vs  Orlando Orlando Defense
L.A. Clippers Off vs Orlando - Points For 116.3 Points For
L.A. Clippers Off vs Orlando - Points Against 108.7 Points Against
L.A. Clippers - FG% 49.2 FG%
Orlando - FG% 47.4 FG%
L.A. Clippers - Reb 42.4 Reb
Orlando - Reb 39.9 Reb
Orlando Orlando Off vs  L.A. Clippers L.A. Clippers Defense
Orlando Off vs L.A. Clippers - Points For 110.6 Points For
Orlando Off vs L.A. Clippers - Points Against 112.9 Points Against
Orlando - FG% 47.8 FG%
L.A. Clippers - FG% 47.2 FG%
Orlando - Reb 42.6 Reb
L.A. Clippers - Reb 41.9 Reb